The recent phenomenon of the censorship of Alex Jones brings to mind parallels to Joseph Smith. The social media companies threw gasoline on the fire and were surprised when it flared up. They only confirmed the conspiratorial beliefs of Jones and his followers.

I think it's more accurate to say Alex Jones is a 21st century Joe Smith. They both claim to have truths about the wicked world, they focus on payment for telling their "truths," and their followers claim that Smith and Jones are persecuted for their beliefs, when those two are really just scammers and all-around terrible people.

How appropriate to combine what are perhaps the two most common surnames: Smith and Jones.

It is ironic that my maternal grandmother - born in 1861 - was a Jones and that I apparently share an ancestral line with .... Joseph Smith. Of course I am sure many, even on this forum, have both Smith and Jones ancestry.

If my uncle, who bore my same name and was a newspaper reporter, publisher, and editorialist, was in Nauvoo he surely would have been part of publishing the Expositor!

It’s a good reminder of how not to deal with fringe movements that thrive on conspiracy theories. You can’t tell Mormons their religion is bogus because you’re only confirming that you’ve been compromised by the devil. Maybe you’re even looking at porn.

It’s probably a reason to tone down my posts. I was “brainwashed”, but you can’t tell a TBM they’re brainwashed because if cultural conditioning is brainwashing then everyone is brainwashed.

The core of Mormonism’s problem is that objective truth is not valued. Doctrine always comes first, which leads to all kinds of mind contortions. That won’t work in the modern world. There will always be culturally induced insanity. That’s not the problem. Fostering lies is the problem because then it becomes pathological.

The Alex Jones fan base wants to be special guardians against a corrupt establishment. They think they’re the good guys. That’s the narrative they entertain. They’re protecting the narrative, just like TBMs.

I think countercultures arise because gaps in the establishment give them a place. People resent being left behind so they find a place to nurture that resentment. If you don’t want countercultures, close the gaps.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2018 06:24PM by babyloncansuckit.